It is common for people to carry small objects on their person such as, for example, keys, wallets, cellular phones, PDAs, purses, and glasses. Unfortunately, due to their small size, it is not uncommon for these personal items to be misplaced. If these objects are lost or stolen, it is at best very inconvenient and at worst financially destructive. Accordingly, a system which automatically warns the user when a personal item carried on the person is missing would be very useful.
Currently, there are some products that exist that attempt to address this issue. For example, one such product includes a transmitter and receiver. The receiver is carried with the user and the transmitter is placed in the user's personal item, typically a purse. When the transmitter is moved more than certain distance away from the receiver, the receiver sounds an alarm, thus indicating that the purse or other large item has been left behind. However, there are several limitations to these devices. For example, the transmitter is much too large to monitor small devices such as keys, wallets, or glasses. Moreover, both the transmitter and the receiver must use battery power at each end for the system to operate (and batteries are relatively bulky and periodically require replacement). If the user fails to carry the receiver, the system is useless. Finally, both the receiver and the transmitter must be turned on for each use.
With the above limitations of the current technology in mind, there is room in the art for a personal item monitor that overcomes these limitations.